


With Great Power There Must Also Come Great Cherry Pie

by kylejoseph



Category: Cherry Pie - Fandom, Mary Jane Watson - Fandom, Spider-Man (Video Game 2018), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24579895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylejoseph/pseuds/kylejoseph
Summary: Mary Jane is coming to dinner.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	With Great Power There Must Also Come Great Cherry Pie

**Author's Note:**

> Set on Earth-1048, sometime after the events of the game

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Peter Parker thought to himself, crouched low with his middle and ring fingers hovering above the sensors of his wrist-mounted web-shooters. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, combat ready and prepared for anything they could throw at him. The Sinister Six, coming for me again. Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, Electro, Mister Negative and one of the toughest foes I've ever faced—my old mentor Otto Octavius turned supervillain Doctor Octopus. Gotta think quick, not much time.

Peter's spider-sense triggered as a bolt of electricity flashed by his head. Moving into a spin dodge, he rolled in the air and fired a blast from his left web-shooter right into the face of—

"Oh, wait, watch out!" Peter cried as the four-eyed red and chrome Spider Drone stumbled off the bookshelf and clattered to the floor. Its simplistic internal AI program was easily confused by the blast of wedding and its lack of vision was sending it into paroxysms of panic. Peter dove for the robot and switched it off, then sat on the floor in his jeans and opened button-up shirt cleaning the webbing from the drone's photoreceptors.

As he sat forlornly on the floor, Peter looked around his tiny Queens apartment's living room slash bedroom slash kitchen slash dining room. Almost every surface was covered with projects he was either in the middle of or had abandoned entirely. Mary Jane Watson—longtime love of his life and now once again his girlfriend—was constantly asking him to tidy up and reminding him that he was no longer a teenager or college student. His twenty-fifth birthday was looming and he was starting to feel like he was going nowhere quickly. After Otto Octavius had turned on him last year and ended up imprisoned in the Raft, Peter had struggled to find purpose in his career.

Spider-Man had always been the answer to these problems. Well, Mary Jane, as well, but having only recently come back into his life he knew he could make an idiot of himself once again and find her gone, moved on to someone who didn't have to rush off to save the world every other day.

But now, with most of Spider-Man's biggest villains locked up in the Raft—an ultra-secure maximum security prison for the worst and most powerful supervillains—Peter Parker found himself without a purpose. He still didn't have a new job and Spider-Man wasn't needed anymore. What else was he going to do? Maybe it was time to swallow his pride and return to the Daily Bugle. He quickly pushed that thought aside and knew he'd rather poke his eyes out than go crawling back there again. Even though his megalomaniac old boss, J. Jonah Jameson, was no longer editor-in-chief, it would mean selling pictures of himself for money and he didn't think he could bring himself to cash in on his own fame. If there was anything his Uncle Ben Parker had taught him, it was to stay humble and never abuse his power.

"With great power, Peter, there must also come great—"

Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket and he dove for it. Reading the words "Mary Jane" pop up, Peter hit the green button and put it to his ear. "Hey, MJ!" he said brightly.

"Hey, Pete," the familiar voice of Mary Jane Watson said with just as much enthusiasm. "I'm on my way over now."

Peter checked the time. "Oh, right," he said, trying to keep his tone as if he remembered their date. "Of course."

"I know you didn't forget you promised me a wonderful pasta dinner tonight," Mary Jane said. He could hear the sound of her closing and locking her front door from somewhere away from the microphone. "I'm going to stop at the store real quick to pick something up and then I'll be headed your way. You've got an hour, tops. Ciao," she finished and hung up before Peter could even respond.

Peter slumped back against the couch. As usual, he'd completely forgotten their date and didn't have a single ingredient he would need in order to cook for his girlfriend. In addition, his apartment was an absolute mess of trinkets and projects. Not to mention the random effigies strewn around made to resemble his most awful villains—the one colored grey with a rhinoceros horn made of a styrofoam cup was the one he was most proud of.

Now, his time was ticking down as Mary Jane drew ever closer. Then, Peter realized what this was, what it absolutely had to be—it would be impossible for Peter Parker to accomplish everything he had to do in that short amount of time. This was a job for Spider-Man!

Practically vibrating with excitement, Peter flung open his window and dove headfirst into the warm summer air. He could feel his unbuttoned collared shirt flapping in the breeze and realized with horror he wasn't wearing his costume. He pointed a web-shooter at the light pole across the road, whipped around it and launched himself right back into the apartment.

Two minutes later, Spider-Man dove in the same fashion and extended his arm, firing a line of webbing which attached to a building across the street. He felt the tension increase until the line was taught and he began to swing in a controlled arc towards the ground. As he came up on the other side of the parabola, Spider-Man released the line and launched himself into the air. Within two hours, each of these lines of webbing would dissolve, leaving no evidence they had ever been there.

In this fashion, Spider-Man swung from building to building, flipped through water towers, launched himself around light poles and cleared rooftops as he navigated his way across the downtown Queens skyline. He was headed for the small Stop & Shop in Forest Hills—knowing it would have everything he needed in order to cook a meal for Mary Jane.

As he swung, Spidey made a mental checklist of everything he'd need. The most important thing, of course, apart from the main meal would be the dessert. Before she passed away, Aunt May used to make, in addition to her wheat cakes, a delicious cherry pie. It was by far Peter's favorite desert and even though he knew store-bought would be nowhere as delicious as homemade, he knew he had to get some all the same.

Checking his watch as he swung into Forest Hills, Peter saw he was already down five minutes from having to go back and change. He thought about sending MJ a quick text but that would only slow him down. Knowing there was no way to delay her, Spidey figured his best option would be to stay focused on the task at hand.

Five minutes later, Spider-Man crawled onto the roof of the Stop & Shop with every ingredient he would need. The only thing he was missing now was a cherry pie—which wasn't the end of the world. The pie section inside the Stop & Shop was full of the pastries but weirdly every single cherry flavored one was sold out. Shaking away the feeling that something was amiss, Spidey secured his purchases into a webbing backpack he whipped up and then hurried off to the next grocery store on his list.

"Ten minutes down," Spider-Man said, checking his watch again. Getting back to his apartment would take at least five minutes, but he refused to give up on his search for a cherry pie. Spidey launched himself into the air and began to swing again. As he moved uptown, he passed a massive billboard of Captain America which had a robotic arm that waved back and forth. His signature Wakandan Vibranium shield was strapped to the other arm and he looked happier than he ever had in his life to be on this billboard waving to everyone down below. The caption by his mouth read, "Be the person HYDRA would see as a threat."

Spider-Man couldn't help but laugh. As he swung by, he spotted a familiar figure standing below, just on the lip of the roof where the Captain America billboard was waving its arm back and forth. "Doctor Strange!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he released his web line and perched lightly on the nearby wall. Clinging to it, Spider-Man watched as the Sorcerer Supreme known as Doctor Strange stood stoically with his eyes closed, his cape flapping in the light summer breeze.

"Mr. Parker," Strange said, not opening his eyes to look at the newcomer. "I see you're in something of a hurry."

"Yeah, kind of."

"So why stop and talk to me, then?" Strange asked. "You have places to be and I have work to do. The Sanctum Sanctorum is—"

"I was wondering if I could borrow that," Spider-Man said, indicating the Amulet of Agamotto dangling around the doctor's neck. "I'm in a bit of a bind and maybe the Time Stone can help me—"

"The Time Stone?" Doctor Strange said, finally opening his eyes and turning his bearded visage to stare at the wallcrawler. "What gave you the idea I have that?"

"Inside the Amulet, right?" Spider-Man asked.

"Don't be foolish, Parker," Doctor Strange said. "Even if I did have the Time Stone, I wouldn't give it to you. I'm sure the need for urgency is mainly due to your own forgetful nature, or am I mistaken? If it's a matter of saving the world, I'll be happy to join you but somehow I doubt that."

Spider-Man swallowed hard. "Okay, but I'm really just trying to find some cherry pie and I'm running out of time."

"It's going to be hard to find any cherry pie right now," Doctor Strange replied.

"Wow," Spider-Man said in awe. "It's impressive how you can use the mystic arts to—"

Doctor Strange extended a finger and pointed at a banner hung across the road.

Cherry Festival, today only, it proclaimed.

"Oh, man," Spider-Man sighed, visibly deflating.

"Okay, good-bye now," Doctor Strange said, waving his hand in Spidey's direction.

In the time it took him to blink, Spider-Man found himself suspended in the air above a building he knew to be halfway across town. He fell face-first onto the gravel roof and landed with a painful "Oof!" As he righted himself, he saw Strange had dropped him off at the next-closest grocery store.

Alas, this location also proved fruitless. As he returned to the roof and crouched on a vent exhaust pipe, Spider-Man considered his options. He could admit defeat and head home or he could call in some reinforcements.

"Time to use that Avengers ID card Tony gave me," Spidey said, pulling it from his pocket and tapping the front.

In the distance, Spider-Man could see the looming shape of Avengers Tower. Almost the moment he pressed the button, an explosion of repulsor energy rocked the highest floor as someone blasted off into the air. The sky darkened with clouds as lightning crashed across the horizon and the following thunder rolled over the city. A beastly roar echoed from somewhere in the distance and the sound of feet stomping followed shortly behind.

Suddenly, a red blur shot past Spider-Man and went splat! on the roof beside him.

"Wade?" Spidey asked in disbelief as the regenerating mutant stood and dusted himself off. "What are you doing here?"

"Cameo," Deadpool replied. "But this fanfic is short so it's a quick one. Longer than the Vader one, for sure, but still short."

With a flourish that could only be accomplished by someone with as big of an ego as Tony Stark, the red-and-gold armored suit of Iron Man made its entrance, slamming into the roof and looking up at Spider-Man and Deadpool. "He's tagging along because Cap is—well a little busy at the moment." Iron Man rose to his full height and approached the pair as Thor and Hulk landed behind him.

"The Avengers have arrived!" Thor declared.

"Hulk smash!" screamed Hulk.

"No!" Tony said, whirling around. "Hulk does not smash, got it? Last time I let you loose on this city I ended up paying out a billion dollars in repair costs which even puts a dent in my wallet. What's going on, kid?" Iron Man asked, turning his helmeted gaze back to Spider-Man.

"I can't find any cherry pie," Spider-Man said.

There was a moment's hesitation. "Like in the city or just as a general concept?" Iron Man finally asked.

Deadpool pulled a cherry pie out of nowhere. "I have one, right here!"

"Where did you get that?" Spider-Man and Iron Man asked simultaneously.

"This one is a little burned, though. Oh well," Deadpool said, shrugging as he tossed it over the edge of the roof. "Look out below!" he called, cupping his hands to his masked mouth.

Spider-Man started to run after the falling pastry but Iron Man blocked his path with an armored hand. "Listen, kid, I gave you that card in case you needed us. For emergencies. Not being able to find a dessert for your little dinner isn't an emergency."

"We'll do it!" Thor shouted, whirling his hammer Mjolnir above his head as the storm over them returned.

"What?" Iron Man said, turning on his companion.

"Aye! We should help young Peter of Parker locate his pie of cherry!" Thor said, nodding.

"Hulk agree," said Hulk. "It will take lots of smashing."

"Nope, no smashing," Iron Man said. "You three head back to base. I'll help Parker myself. Admittedly, I do know the best places to find cherry pie."

"You do?" Spidey asked.

The Iron Man armor unfolded and Tony Stark, dressed in his skin-tight underarmor, stepped out. "Sentry mode," he said and the armor resealed itself and stood guard. Tony withdrew a tablet and started tapping the screen. "Look, kid, you'll learn quickly when you want something sweet, there's nothing better than a good pie." He looked up to the sky as Deadpool jumped onto Thor's shoulders and they headed back to the tower.

High above them in Earth's orbit, a satellite with "Stark Industries" etched on the side opened like a flower in bloom. From this a dozen small probes launched in unison, falling into the gravity well of the planet below and zooming off for New York City.

"Drones launched. Here we go, kid," Tony said, tapping on the tablet as the orbital drones came into view and spread out into the city. As they did, Spider-Man checked his watch again. They were down to forty-five minutes now.

"If we can't find one this way," Tony said, "it doesn't exist."

"Come on, come on," Spider-Man said, crossing his fingers.

"You need to get going, Parker," Tony told him. "It's going to take you thirty-five point zero four minutes to cook that food and another five to get back to your apartment from here. Plus, I'm sure it's a disaster inside. Trust me, you won't impress MJ if she sees you living like a slob."

"I mean, she knows I'm a slob," Spidey said truthfully.

"That was fine when you were both young," Tony said. "But now she needs to know you have your life together. Trust me, I know from personal experience." When Peter didn't move, Tony shouted, "Go!"

Without waiting for another word, Spider-Man crouched and launched himself into the air. Firing out a web line, he began to swing back in the direction of his apartment. True to Tony's word, it took him around four minutes and ten seconds to spot the window leading into his unit. "Window open," he said as he approached.

Two Spider Drones worked in unison to raise the window before Spider-Man came sailing through it and slammed it closed behind him.

"Still scanning kid," Tony said through the earpiece Spider-Man wore under his costume.

Pulling off his mask, Peter threw the webbing backpack of ingredients onto the counter and began pulling out item after item. At the same time he was trying to pull the rest of his skin-tight costume off and managed to tangle himself up. As he fell to the floor, he heard Tony give another update but couldn't make out the words.

Finally, Peter managed to get free of his suit and tossed it aside. Working as quickly as he could, he began to prepare the ingredients for his pasta dish when he saw his cell phone light up again.

"Hey Pete, I'm about five minutes out, see you soon. –MJ," it read.

"Oh no," Peter said, putting a pan of water on the stove to boil. He knew the food wouldn't be ready by the time she arrived but at least it would be well on its way. Once the prep work was done, Peter realized his apartment was still a disaster area.

"I may have something, I'll get back to you in a second," Tony said in his ear. "I put one of the drones on your building, she's pulling up to the curb now."

Ignoring the tech billionaire's words, Peter grabbed a trash bag and began hopping around the room, using his web-shooters to fire line after line at every piece of garbage or out-of-place knick knack he possessed. "Find any dirty surface," Peter commanded the Spider Drones. They snapped to attention and began to zoom around the apartment looking for anything they could clean.

Hurrying to his bedroom, Peter pulled on the clothes he had been wearing before, knowing he'd worked up a sweat but he was quickly running out of time and a shower was out of the question. With Mary Jane running early, his heart was hammering louder and louder than it had been even during his last fight with Electro.

The doorbell rang. Peter looked up from his cooking, checking himself in the mirror and hurried over to let her in.

"Sorry, Pete, they're sold out everywhere," Tony said. "Good luck, kid. Stark out."

Peter opened the door and found Mary Jane Watson standing in the threshold, her beautiful flaming red hair framing her perfect face. In her hands she was carrying an overloaded pie stuffed with cherries that matched her head. "Hey, Pete," she said happily. "I brought some cherry pie. I know it's your favorite."

Pulling his girlfriend into a tight embrace, Peter kissed her deeply.

"I hope you didn't go to any trouble trying to find dessert," she said when they parted. "The entire town was sold out because of the Cherry Festival but luckily I'd already made this for us."

As he closed the door, Peter grinned. "No trouble at all," he said.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! Thank you for reading my second fanfiction. If you like this please check out my original works here:
> 
> https://tinyurl.com/KyleJosephWebsite  
> https://tinyurl.com/KyleJosephYouTube


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